CakeMail Email Marketing Software available in German, Romanian and Greek

By Francois Lane, on October 30, 2008 - 2 Comments
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CakeMail is very excited to make three more languages available in the CakeMail user interface. You can now use CakeMail email marketing software in English (US), French (Canada), Russian, Dutch, German (BETA), Greek (BETA) and Romanian (BETA). And the best news is you can use them all at the same time. That’s right! You can have people from around the world using the same account in their own language of choice!

The Romanian version was developed by the CakeMail team. The German version is the work of our partner wissenswerft in Germany, and the Greek version was translated by MailCloud in Greece. Both wissenswerft and MailCloud offer their own private label version of CakeMail’s service for their clients.

In these tough financial times, we believe it’s wise to think globally, and expand into international markets. CakeMail’s interface is easily translatable and this makes it a great tool. And along with CakeMail’s great business model, this email marketing software can help make you more money in new markets, and give you a competitive edge. You can discover all of the above languages at CakeMail.com. You will see how easily CakeMail can be adapted for even more languages (including non-latin characters!).

We are always looking for new partners. If you would be interested in translating CakeMail into your own language, contact us. We are always more than happy to give full access to our tools for a new language.

Experts agree on Email as Recession Proof: Email in Recession part 3

By Isabel Lapointe, on October 29, 2008 - Leave a comment
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For many experts email marketing is one of the best options you have in these difficult financial times. When marketing budgets are the first to be cut, here is some advice on keeping email away from the chopping block. Hope it brings you inspiration!

Recession—Bad for Marketing, Great for Email Marketing
Published in January, back in the news this October, Elie Ashery of Gold Lasso speaks about how Email Marketing was not mature enough during 2001-2002 recession to prove its capabilities as an economical or strong tool. He said that the situation has changed now and this recession “presents a unique opportunity for email marketers to lobby their CEOs and CFOs for a larger slice of their marketing budget.”

Email Economics: What to do in a Recession
G. Simms Jenkins from iMedia Connection detailed out a few advantages on keeping email marketing alive in your organization. Among them:

  • Where else can you test campaign concepts, creative and offers?
  • Email gives you the data you need to determine success.
  • Email is a branding tool.
  • Email cuts other costs.

Now is the Time to Invest in Email – Not Put It on the Chopping Block
MarketingSherpa’s new chart compares people’s advices on email investment with its effectiveness.

Recession Buster Ideas for Email
At Return Path, Stephanie Miller of Global Markets Catalyst presents simple ideas to exploit your email marketing capabilities without many expenses. First, she insists on keeping strong and expanding your loyalty program to build on your existing client base. And second, if you haven’t done it yet, why don’t you use email to sample your product or service? A collateral advantage to these types of email is that they are ‘incredibly viral’. Finally, she suggests sending fewer communications to your customers but giving them a little more in each one and giving them clear advantages on staying with your brand.

Ride out the Recession with Email
John Rizzi in DM News makes two interesting arguments for email marketing, among others. He says, “Email is the most measurable of all marketing channels” and he points out “email’s ability to help you protect your most valuable asset in a down economy: loyal customers”.

Email Marketing is still by far the Best ROI: Email in Recession Part 2

By Isabel Lapointe, on October 27, 2008 - Leave a comment
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In the USA, Email’s ROI in 2008 was $45.06 (US) for every dollar spent. Even though it has dropped from $48.34 last year, and is projected to drop to $43.52 in 2009, Email ROI is still by far the best ROI you can find.

Compare email to the ROI of other types of direct marketing:

  • Non-Email Internet marketing’s ROI was $19.94 for every dollar in 2008 – 19.97$ projected in 2009
  • Catalog marketing was $7.28 in 2008 – $7.25 in 2009
  • Non-catalog direct marketing was $15.55 in 2008 – $15.50 in 2009

Those numbers were released in The Power of Direct Marketing: ROI, Sales, Expenditures, and Employment in the US, 2008-2009 Edition from Direct Marketing Association.

Reach them, Speak their Language: Email in Recession part 1

By Isabel Lapointe, on October 16, 2008 - 6 Comments
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In a ‘Chart of the week’ taken from MarketingSherpa’s most recent issue of the annual Email Marketing Benchmark Guide, their team has put the focus on the international market during this difficult economic period. Now is a good time to really start thinking globally: “Building an international clientele can help insulate your organization from localized economic slumps.”

We would also like to add that email is a comparably economical marketing tool that you can easily adapt locally to reach different cultures and languages globally. Email is an incredibly efficient way to communicate with people all around the world who are (or could be!) interested in your products or services.

Even though email subscribers are often from all around the globe, international email marketing is a priority for only a third (34%) of the respondents to the survey conducted by MarketingSherpa, with 15% describing it as a ‘high priority’. 37.5 % said “it is on their radar but no plan” to use it and 34% are not even close to using email marketing yet. More info on the chart: Slow Rate of Adopting an International Email Focus Creates Big Marketing Opportunities Overseas.

CakeMail has been ‘thinking globally’ from its conception, welcoming any language to be translated (even non-Latin characters can be displayed!). We will soon be releasing new languages, translated and adapted from partners dedicated to speaking their clients’ language. We are very proud of it. We are sure our clients and their clients are too.

Review your lists to reach those customers wherever they are. And speak their language. Because “when it comes to thinking globally, there’s no time like the present.”

Deliverability FAQ, Whitelisting 101 and more

By Isabel Lapointe, on October 14, 2008 - Leave a comment
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Our email delivery expert, Kevin Huxham, Director of Deliverability recently updated our Deliverability section. There you will find more information and precious resources on this delicate and complicated topic. In Deliverability FAQ, he reviews how Spam traps, Content filters, Blacklists and Feedback loops work and helps you to understand how to keep your email out of the Junk folder. In Whitelisting 101 he gives precise information on how to white-list an email address with major email providers, Webmail services and Spam filters. Feel free to link to this document from your own Website to help your customers deliver their email!

Top 10 Wish List for Agencies of the Future

By Isabel Lapointe, on October 10, 2008 - Leave a comment
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200 chief marketing officers (CMOs) and senior marketing professionals were recently asked about what they expect from their advertising/marketing agencies in the next 12 months. Based on the survey results, here is their
Top 10 Wish List for Agencies of the Future:

1. Greater knowledge of the digital space.
2. More use of “pull interactions.”
3. Leverage virtual communities.
4. Agency executives using the technology they are recommending.
5. Chief Digital Officers make agencies more appealing.
6. Web 2.0 and social media savvy.
7. Agencies that understand consumer behavior.
8. Demonstrate strategic thinking.
9. Branding and creative capabilities.
10. Ability to measure success.

The Agency of the Future Survey was conducted by the (american based) interactive marketing agency Sapient via e-mail and polled more than 200 respondents responsible for managing digital marketing budget allocation. Read the press release for detailed information.

Ideas Worth Blogging 2008/10/06

By Isabel Lapointe, on October 6, 2008 - Leave a comment
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12 Questions to ask about your Email Marketing
Take a second to review your email marketing efforts.

Email Marketing Q&A’s
Email Experience Council talks about CAN-SPAM, Permissions, Lists and Email Content.

Email Data Management Best Practices
How to take care of all this private information.

Arguments for Double Opt-in
You still need to be convinced?

2 Articles on Email Design:
Well on Your Way to Creating Successful Email Campaigns
6 Easy Ways to Improve Your HTML Emails

10 crucial elements for great transactional emails
Use your transactionnal emails to strenghten the relationships with your customers.

5 Factors for Measuring Your E-mail Reputation
1. Volume
2. Complaint
3. Hard Bounce Rate
4. Spam Trap Hits
5. Authentication

And The 6 step Reputation Management Process
1. Find out whether people are talking about your company, your product, your executives, etc.
2. Find out where they’re talking.
3. Identify the influencers.
4. Determine the sentiment.
5. Plan and implement your participation in the discussion.
6. Identify gaps in the conversation.